(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says people involved in blockades and occupations like the one that’s been going on in Canada would be quickly arrested if that happened in Iowa, but Reynolds is expressing sympathy to Canadians who’re unhappy with that country’s vaccination requirements.

“The means don’t justify the end, but I’m telling you it is a reflection of where people are at today,” Reynolds says. Reynolds approved a state law last year that raised the penalties for protest-related crimes. It created a new crime called “interference with public disorder control” and people convicted of “unlawful assembly” can be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

Iowa law now provides civil liability protection to drivers who accidentally hit protesters blocking roads. Demonstrators began blocking the streets of Ottawa, Canada on January 28th and police began making arrests and towing vehicles late last week.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s plan to provide state scholarships to parents who start sending their kids to a private school is being changed to try to gain more votes. Rural lawmakers worry the concept will put more financial strain on small school districts and the plan has stalled in the House for a second year. Last month, Governor Kim Reynolds suggested a new fund for public school districts with fewer than 500 students. This weekend during an appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S, Reynolds shared a counter offer that would send more money to more rural schools.

“One of the other things we’re looking at as we talk about the bill is maybe look at occupational sharing and that would cover an even broader group of rural districts,” Reynolds says, “so we’re still working on the pieces of the legislation.” The state already provides increased state funding to Iowa school districts that share superintendents, social workers, custodians or business managers. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst expects a fierce pressure campaign to get a bill passed this year.

“This is an election year, so I think all bets are off when it comes to what’s going to happen,” Konfrst says.”I remain hopeful that there are enough Republicans in the House who recognize this for what it is, which is a sham to move public money to private schools.”

The initial copy of the governor’s Students First Scholarship program advanced out of the Senate Education Committee last week, but the panel’s Republican chairwoman says changes are going to be made in the plan. House Speaker Pat Grassley has used his authority to move the bill to another House committee, so it remains eligible for debate.

Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst (from Red Oak) will make stops in Adams and Shelby Counties this week, as part of her “99 County Tour.”  Her first event is a 10:30-a.m. Town Hall meeting in Adams County, at the Corning Community Center (601 6th St., Corning). Ernst will hear from and discuss with her constituents, matters of importance to them. The event is open to the public.

Her stop in Shelby County, at the Exira-EHK High School, is NOT open to the public. The Senator will visit “Kids in the Village,” a child care center, to tour the facility and meet with their leadership team.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Iowa 3rd District Democrat Representative Cindy Axne will hold a “Connect with your Congresswoman” town hall event in Atlantic, Wednesday (Feb. 23rd). The event takes place at the Atlantic Public Library, beginning at 5:15-p.m.

Axne will be available to answer questions about her work in Washington and discuss issues or concerns facing constituents. Attendees are asked to wear a face mask to slow the spread of COVID-19 variants.

At least two area school district boards of education will hold their regular monthly meetings, Monday evening (Feb. 21st). In Griswold, the School Board meeting gets underway at 5:30-p.m. in the Conference Room at the High School. New Business on their agenda includes (but is not limited to…), considering and possible approval of:

• Auditor bids for Fiscal Years 2023,2024, & 2025 (Decision Required [D.R.])
• E-Rate Application [D.R.]
• Chemical Application, Middle School Gym, and Baseball Field Maintenance bids. [D.R.]
• Mowing Specifications [D.R.]
• An adjustment to Substitute Pay (Information only, or [D.R.])

The Griswold School Board will then consider/act on entering into a Closed Session for strategy negotiations with the Certified Bargaining Unit.

In Audubon, the District School Board meets at 7-p.m., Monday, in the High School Board Room. Action items on their agenda include:

• Naming the Audubon Education Association as the Official Bargaining Unit for Teachers.
• Setting the time and dates for: Public Bargaining Meeting (Board opening proposal), & a hearing on the School Calendar.
• The Board will also act on approving an agreement with Advantage Administrators, re: Early Retirement HRA.
• Act on approving the second reading of policies (105, 200.1, 210.8, 212, 212.1, 401.4, 502.4 & 606.6)
• Rescinding Policy 307,
• and they will act on any Personnel matters to come before the Board (Resignations, Contracts, etc.)

The Audubon School Board is expected to receive an Open Bargaining Proposal from the Audubon Education Association, prior to hearing regular monthly reports from the Superintendent, Principals and with regard to Transportation.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) — Police responding to an altercation early Saturday morning, in Shenandoah, arrested a woman on a assault charge. Shenandoah Police Department were called to the 1100 block of West Lowell at around 6-a.m., and upon further investigation, officers arrested 26-year old Taylor Dawn Fleming, of Shenandoah, for Domestic Assault/1st offense.

Fleming was transported to the Page County Jail and was being held without bond.

(Hazleton, Iowa) – Four people were injured and a person from Perry died early Saturday morning, following a crash in eastern Iowa’s Buchanan County, south of Hazleton. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened on Highway 150, at around 2:38-a.m.

Authorities say a 2011 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 27-year-old Brian Goedken, from Independence, was traveling south on Hwy 150, when the vehicle crossed the center line, and struck a northbound 2008 Pontiac driven by 31-year-old Ronald Landals, from Perry, head-on. The pickup also struck a 2021 Ford Explorer. The SUV was driven by 26-year-old Mitchel Franck, from Fairbank, Iowa. Franck is a Buchanan County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Landals died at the scene. The other two drivers were injured, along with 21-year-old Meadow Lynn, from Independence, and 28-year-old Erin Bernardino, from Des Moines.  All of the crash victims were wearing their seat belts. Of those injured, Goedken and Lynn were taken to St. Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids. The other two were transported to separate hospitals, with Bernardino taken to the UIHC in Iowa City, and Franck transported to the Buchanan County Hospital in Independence.

The accident remained under investigation. Assisting the Patrol at the crash scene, were deputies from the Buchanan and Fayette County Sheriff’s Departments, along with Hazleton Fire and EMS.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is joining with Iowa State University on a project to document and help a specific type of turtle increase its numbers. The D-N-R’s Karen Kinkead says the Blanding’s turtles don’t mature and reproduce at a very fast rate. “The average is about 14 years — but it varies individually by turtle before they lay their first eggs. And the nests are very susceptible to predators — particularly raccoons and skunks,” Kinkead says. She says there’s been less trapping in the state and that has led to increased predators for the turtle. The Blanding’s turtles are found in wetland areas of northwest and central Iowa. “They are a state-listed species, so we don’t give out specific locations,” according to Kinkead. “They’ve got a bit of a black market following, so we try to keep that private so that the turtles aren’t collected illegally.”

Blanding’s turtle (IA DNR photo)

The plan is to monitor the turtles with radio transmitters. “The University of Northern Iowa has been doing some work on a different species of turtles for a very long time — and so they’ve sort of figured out the methodology of which transmitters to use and how to set them and how to attach them to turtles. And it should work the same way on the Blandings turtles that we are interested in,” she says. They also plan to work with the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines to gather some eggs and hatch out turtles to be placed back in the wild. “We think that doing it that way a turtle in captivity will be about the size of a three-year-old turtle in the wild after about a year,” Kinkead says. “And just that just gives them a bit more protection and gives their shell will harden and they get to a larger size — so it’s harder for like a great blue heron to swallow them whole for example.”

The Blanding’s turtles can live to be 75 years old. She says it’s important the D-N-R’s Wildlife Diversity Program does what it can to help this species. “They’ve certainly been around a very, very long time and I don’t think it is responsible of us to let them go extinct on our watch if we can help it,” Kinkead says.

The D-N-R is providing 163-thousand dollars for the project, with I-S-U chipping in 57-thousand. They have a two-and-a-half-year agreement to track and detail the lives of the turtles.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The trial for an Atlantic man facing felony charges of Attempted Murder and Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury, has been continued (delayed) for one month. 34-year-old Richard J. Doss, Jr., was set to stand trial this Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, but according to online court records updated Friday (Feb. 18th), the trial has instead been moved to March 22nd, at 9:30-a.m. His Pre-Trial Conference will be held March 14th.

Doss is accused of stabbing a man on Jan. 5th at an apartment complex across from Cass Health, in Atlantic. He has plead not guilty, and earlier waived his right to a speedy trial. Doss Jr., was arrested Dec. 6th, hours after a man arrived at the Cass County Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room on Jan.5th, after being stabbed.

Photo of Richard DOSS Jr. (Iowa DPS photo)

The victim – whose name has not yet officially been released – was treated at the hospital and then transported by helicopter to UNMC in Omaha for further treatment.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – If you’re looking for ideas on how to eat healthy and make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen, a slow cooker workshop is just the thing for you! You are invited to join Leah Brooke, ISU Extension and Outreach Human Sciences Specialist in Food and Health, for a Slow Cooker Meal workshop on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, from 6-until 8-PM, at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic.

Healthy and Homemade is a series of workshops focused on strategies for using your time, money and skills wisely to save money while preparing nutritious food safely right at home. In our slow cooker workshop, we will focus on the benefits of using a slow cooker to prepare meals, discuss safe food preparation tips, and learn about different meal ideas that work well in a slow cooker. Samples will be available for tasting some of the recipes discussed.

Cost for the workshop is $10.00, which includes all class materials. Pre-registration is required in advance of the workshop, and can be done online at https://go.iastate.edu/GALD1L. If cost is a barrier, please contact the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 to inquire about scholarships. Information about the class is also available on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass or by stopping into the Extension office at 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic.

You can also contact Leah Brooke, Extension Food and Health Specialist, at lbrooke@iastate.edu or 641-782-8426 with questions regarding the class or online registration.